Doctor Jones

Last updated

"Doctor Jones"
Doctor jones.jpg
Single by Aqua
from the album Aquarium
ReleasedOctober 1997 (1997-10)
Genre Pop
Length3:22
Label Universal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Johnny Jam
  • Delgado
  • Claus Norreen
  • Søren Rasted
Aqua singles chronology
"Barbie Girl"
(1997)		"Doctor Jones"
(1997)		"Lollipop (Candyman)"
(1997)
Music video
"Doctor Jones" on YouTube

"Doctor Jones" is a song by Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, released as the fourth single from their debut album, Aquarium (1997). It was the follow-up to their most successful song, "Barbie Girl", and first released as a single in most of Europe in October 1997 by Universal Records. In December 1997, "Doctor Jones" was released in Australia and peaked at No. 1 for seven consecutive weeks. In January 1998, the song was released in the United Kingdom and became the group's second No. 1 single, topping the chart for three weeks. Throughout the rest of Europe, the song reached the top 10 in 11 countries, topping the charts of Croatia and Ireland. Its music video, directed by Peder Pedersen, continued the same cinematic style as in "Barbie Girl", this time using Indiana Jones characters from the film series of the same name.

Contents

Critical reception

Scottish Daily Record remarked that the band "give Indiana Jones the pop treatment last offered to Mattel's Barbie dolls." [1] A reviewer from Music & Media wrote, "The motto 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' seems to have been the creed of the Aqua team when they came up with this worthy successor to the phenomenon that is "Barbie Girl". Not only is it a strong pop song in its own right, but the inclusion of some tasty remixes by Antiloop and Molella & Phil Jay among others could arouse interest from programmers who usually chart their course away from the mainstream." [2]

Music Week gave "Doctor Jones" four out of five, adding, "While not quite as insanely catchy as "Barbie Girl", this is still perfect pop. The now familiar girl/boy chemistry will appeal to kids of all ages." [3] The magazine's Alan Jones said, "Looking set to become rather more than one-hit wonders — their third single sounds like a Madonna song — Aqua must nevertheless first prove themselves with "Doctor Jones", another cutesy novelty along the lines of "Barbie Girl", though taken at a more frantic pace, with the same cutesy girl and more brisk and less musical male counter. Horribly commercial, with lots of Yippy-yiyying and every chance of success." [4]

Chart performance

"Doctor Jones" peaked at No. 1 in Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it reached the top spot during its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on 1 February 1998, spending two weeks at the top. [5] It entered the top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it reached No. 3. Outside Europe, "Doctor Jones" was a No. 1 hit in Australia for seven weeks while peaking at No. 2 in New Zealand. In the United States, it charted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, peaking at No. 18. "Doctor Jones" was awarded with a gold record in Germany and the Netherlands, and a platinum record in Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. In Australia, the single earned a triple platinum record.

Retrospective response

In a 2019 retrospective review, Can't Stop the Pop wrote, "Swimming amidst a sea of killer hooks is the chorus, which at times feels almost a little forgotten. It’s testament to the rest of the song being so good that this winds up being the case, rather than the chorus itself being poor." [6] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In found that the "bouncy" tune deal with "the end to a summer of love". [7] In a 2015 review, Pop Rescue commented, "Again, the contrast and back-and-forth between René's gruff vocals and Lene's higher pitched dance 'eye-pee-eye-ay' vocals really help this track to keep it's up-tempo pace and catchiness. The track is fun, aided by the duo's vocal play and caricatures." [8] Nick Reed from The Quietus named the song a stand out of the album, adding, "It's so effortlessly catchy, with all these little bouncy melody lines, an awesome call-and-response bit, and a chorus with an out-of-nowhere "Wake up now!" line that still makes me laugh today. For this one moment, Aqua were able to channel ABBA at their best, and managed to write a truly perfect pop song in the process." [9]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Doctor Jones" implies the song is based around the Indiana Jones character from the film series of the same name, with René Dif playing Jones and rescuing his fellow band members from a stereotypical voodoo tribe. The title logo is written in a similar form to that of the Indiana Jones logo. There is also a shot of airplane's flight path over a map, which is used in the film series. The lyric "Dr. Jones, wake up now" may also be a reference to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where Short Round implores Indiana Jones to "wake up" after being brainwashed by the blood of Kālī Ma, or during a scene on an airplane when Willie Scott says, "Calling Dr. Jones, wake up!".

The video was one of five Aqua videos directed by Peder Pedersen, who would later spoof the Indiana Jones-movies again in his computer-animated short film Lego Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick (2008).

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [50] 3× Platinum210,000^
Belgium (BEA) [51] Platinum50,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [52] Gold45,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [53] Gold250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [54] Gold50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [55] Platinum10,000*
Sweden (GLF) [56] Platinum30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [57] Platinum600,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
EuropeOctober 1997CD Universal
Australia1 December 1997 [16]
United Kingdom26 January 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
 [58]

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